Blue Jays Secured a Huge Advantage For Postseason Push

The Toronto Blue Jays have caught fire during the final stretch of the regular season. On Thursday, they defeated the Cleveland Guardians 6-3 to secure a huge series win. The Blue Jays have won five of their last six games and are one game below .500.

They're also 19-12 since August 1 and are finally looking like the team fans have been waiting for all season. Toronto is used to the pressure. Nothing seems out of reach for this team, and last season's postseason run shaped their current mentality, according to John Schneider.

"The mentality, going back to that Seattle series [in the ALCS] when we were coming home down 3-2," Schneider said, per Keegan Matheson of mlb.com. "We just had to win tomorrow. We had to win the next day and figure it out. That's the mentality right now."

Blue Jays Secure Tiebreaker Over the Guardians

Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider (14) walks to the mound. Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

With Thursday's win, the Blue Jays have secured the season tiebreaker over the Guardians. They won four out of the six head-to-head matchups. That is a massive victory given how tight the American League wild-card race is.

The standings are changing every day, but Toronto is a half-game behind Cleveland for the final wild-card spot. Two consecutive wins would put the Blue Jays above .500 for the first time since April.

Two other teams remain in close competition with Toronto in the wild-card race: The Baltimore Orioles and the Texas Rangers. Currently, the Blue Jays have a 4-3 advantage over the Orioles with six games remaining. However, they'll lose the season series to the Rangers even though they have three head-to-head games left.

The Minnesota Twins (67-73) and Seattle Mariners (66-74) are also in proximity, but time is running short for either team to make a run. It will likely come down to Toronto, Cleveland, Baltimore, Texas, and the Houston Astros, who currently lead the A.L. West.

A playoff race becomes much easier when the stars show up. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been disappointing this season, but he delivered when his team needed him most. On Wednesday, he launched a three-run homer and finished with five RBIs.

Guerrero Jr. had a walk and a sacrifice fly in Thursday's win. The Blue Jays desperately need their leader to come through over these final three weeks, and this series could be an indicator that he's found a groove.

There is still plenty of work to be done between Thursday and September 27. But Schneider's team took a massive step with a series win.

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